Thirtieth Anniversary
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Derek and Casey Venturi celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary with family and friends. Derek/Casey, Lizzie/Edwin


Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek. No copyright infrigement intended.  
Warning: Some spoilers for unaired episodes of season four.

* * *

Casey Venturi was struggling to keep up the house before everyone arrived for her and Derek's thirtieth wedding anniversary party. "Help me," she snapped at her husband.

Derek laughed at his wife, but backed down rather quickly. "Okay," he agreed. Their son and daughter were arriving pretty soon, he couldn't wait. They would help him calm Casey down.

"Mommy, I can't find the dress I want to wear!" called five year old Julie. She had been a surprise to Casey and Derek, forty-eight at the time. Casey had been pre menopausal and thought she couldn't get pregnant. The pregnancy had been high-risk, but went surprisingly went. Julie had been two weeks early, but otherwise healthy. She had been named Julie Isadora Venturi.

"Go," Derek encouraged. After knowing Casey for so long, he knew what exactly she wanted done in the house. Besides, it would take Julie and Casey awhile to find the dress.

"I'm coming!" Casey called back. She went up the steps to her daughter's room. Julie tended to lose a lot of things, but that was okay. She was a little bit like Marti.

The door opened just as Derek finished cleaning, and Casey and Julie returned from upstairs. "Hi," said the oldest Venturi child, Piper Nora Venturi-Carlson, stepped in with her husband and newborn son. The thirty year old always walked in without ringing the doorbell.

"Can I hold the baby?" Julie asked her older sister immediately. The five year old loved playing with the baby. He was adorable, and Julie desperately wanted a new brother or sister for Christmas even though Derek and Casey had explained that they were too old for another baby.

"Of course," Piper assured her sister. Julie ran to sit down and Piper carefully put three month old Donovan Derek Venturi-Carlson in her hands.

"I'll support his head," Julie promised. She knew from her mommy and Piper that that was very important because something bad could happen to the baby.

"That's good," replied Piper's husband, Daniel Carlson. He was the son of Emily and her first husband. Emily had since married high school boyfriend Sheldon Schlepper, and the two had combined their families. Emily had had two kids and Sheldon one. Emily had given birth to one last baby at the age of thirty-three. She and Sheldon had decided that four kids were enough.

"How are you?" Casey asked her son-in-law. She was so glad that she and Emily were related by marriage now. It was pretty awesome, actually. Derek and Sheldon had rolled their eyes when Emily and Casey had become excited after learning of Daniel's proposal.

"Great," Daniel answered just as the door opened again. Twenty-nine year old Andrew George Venturi came in the door with his wife of six months, Ava Madison Mitchell-Venturi. Ava was the daughter of Derek's ex-girlfriend Kendra and Patrick Mitchell, Sally's (another one of Derek's exes) ex-boyfriend. The two had eventually realized that they were in love with each other and married. Ava was their only child.

"You want the baby?" Julie asked her older brother. She was getting tired of holding him and wanted to go play.

"Sure," Andrew said. He carefully picked up his nephew and sat down on the couch to talk to him. He couldn't wait until he and Ava had children of their own, but the couple had decided to wait awhile before having a baby.

"We have to get you ready," Piper told her mother. Casey was in a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, and that was not acceptable. Okay, maybe that was Piper's Type A personality coming through, but that didn't matter. Her mother needed to look pretty and perfect.

"Let's go then," Casey decided. She paused for a minute to clean off Julie's face and then bolted up the steps after her oldest child.

"I can't wait for the party!" Julie cried excitedly to her father, brother, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law. She loved parties. They were always fun. Especially birthday parties.

"We know you can't, Baby Girl." Derek still couldn't believe that he and Casey had become parents again at forty-eight. Piper had been twenty-five and Andrew twenty-four upon her birth. The couple had always thought that two kids were enough for them, until Casey had learned of her pregnancy with Julie.

"At least we'll know what the baby will be like when he's older," Daniel commented to Ava and Andrew. Both laughed.

"We have to check again to make sure that everything in the house is perfect for the party," Derek decided. He didn't want to face Casey's wrath. He knew better than that.

"Because Casey will freak if things don't go according to plan," Daniel muttered under his breath. He liked Casey, but she scared him sometimes.

The Venturi family set out to make sure that the house was clean and that nothing was even remotely wrong with it.

XXXXXXX

At 5:30, the anniversary party started. The first real guests to arrive were Edwin and Lizzie Venturi with their four kids in tow.

"Happy anniversary!" Lizzie happily told her stepbrother and sister. She hugged Casey and then Derek. It was hard to believe that Casey and Derek had been married for thirty years.

"Thanks, little sis," Casey answered. Lizzie had always been excited about her and Derek getting married. She had been one of the first ones to find out about the engagement.

"Hi, Aunt Casey. Hi Uncle Derek." That was Lizzie and Edwin's youngest child, thirteen year old Sebastian George Venturi.

"You're old," seventeen year old Lola sing-songed. She was the eldest of Lizzie and Edwin's four kids, and sometimes loved to make fun of her aunt and uncle.

"We know, Lola." Derek thought it was hilarious how much his niece acted like him. She loved pulling pranks.

"I'm going to go eat," Edwin declared. He was starving, but Lizzie had claimed that he would spoil dinner if he had eaten anything at all.

"Save some room for dinner," Lizzie warned. Wow, she had spent way too much time parenting lately and was starting to mother her own husband. That wasn't good. Lizzie needed to get out for one night. Maybe she would ask Casey, Marti, and Emily to go with her for a day of shopping soon. Shopping sounded fun.

"I will!" Edwin called back to his wife. He headed over to the dessert table. They all looked really good. As soon as Sebastian saw the desserts, he bolted after his father.

The door opened again. George and Nora, now in their mid seventies, but still healthy, looked excited to see their children. "How are you?" Nora asked Casey.

"We're fine, Mom. Are you okay?" Casey questioned. She unnecessarily worried about her mother and stepfather, but that was because they were older now.

"We're fine," George assured his stepdaughter. He went over to sit on the couch next to Julie, who was grabbing everyone's attention.

Marti and her husband Rob showed up about ten minutes later. Marti and Rob had been together since they were sixteen, but Marti had refused to marry him. She traveled around the world for a few years. Rob had sometimes caught up with her, but let Marti do her own thing. She had finally agreed to marry Rob when they were thirty-six, after being together for twenty years. The two had decided not to have children, making a decision to spoil their nieces and nephews instead. "Thirty years have passed quickly," Marti commented.

"At least I wasn't a guest at the wedding." Andrew was teasing Piper. Casey and Derek had been engaged for a year upon learning of her first pregnancy. They had planned the wedding to occur in August. Piper had been born in July, but the couple hadn't cared.

Piper rolled her eyes. "You were born eleven months after I was," she reminded him. Casey and Derek had cancelled their honeymoon, but had decided to spend a weekend at a hotel a few weeks later. They had conceived Andrew then.

"Good point," he conceded. He still couldn't believe that his parents had had two babies in less than a year. Julie had been quite a surprise, though. He and Piper adored their little sister and wouldn't trade her for anything, however.

"I love you," Derek whispered to his wife, ignoring everyone. He couldn't imagine his life without her now. Derek was so glad to have married her. It was still hard to believe that he and Casey had tried Operation Disengagement all those years ago.

Casey smiled at him. "I love you too," she whispered back. Casey kissed Derek, and the two began to make out.

Some of their guests thought it was sweet, but others (mainly their children, nieces, and nephews) thought it was disgusting. "Get a room!" cried Lizzie and Edwin's fifteen year old son, Matthew. His twin sister Amelia nodded in agreement.

"That's not a good idea!" shouted Keely. Keely was George and Nora's only biological child together. She had been born after Casey and Derek had gone to university together.

The other guests laughed. Keely, now thirty-four, had just gotten married. She and her new husband had decided to wait on babies for awhile.

Everyone began to eat snacks and talk with each for a little bit.

XXXXXX

At 9:00, Lizzie, Casey's maid-of-honor at the wedding, got up to give a speech. "Thirty years ago today, my sister became the happy wife she is today. Casey was so happy to marry Derek. She loved him so much, and still does. Some people said it would never last, but they were wrong. I'm so happy that they were wrong. I hope you two have thirty more amazing years." She sat down, ready to cry. Stupid wedding anniversaries that got her emotional.

This time, Derek stood up. He didn't usually like to give speeches, but his thirtieth anniversary was important. "Casey, I can't imagine my life without you. I know our first meeting didn't go so well, especially with Operation Disengagement, but that meeting led to other things. Falling in love with you and having three amazing kids with you is the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you, Cassandra Rose."

Casey smiled, despite the fact that she was crying. Derek only called her Cassandra Rose when he was in a really sappy mood. Getting called by her full name was very rare. Casey stood up with her husband. "You make me happier than I ever imagined and I love you so much," she confessed.

"I wasn't done, Case," he whispered. Derek really hoped that they did make it another thirty years. That would be perfect.

"Continue," his crying wife urged him. Casey really hoped that Derek didn't make her cry anymore. That would suck.

Derek continued. "I wouldn't change the past thirty years for anything. Casey, I hope that we'll remain happy, but that's going to be easy. I've always been happy with you, even when we were fighting."

A still crying Casey hugged her husband. Derek could be so romantic sometimes, and tonight had been no exception.

Thirty years of marriage had changed Casey and Derek for the better. They had known each other for forty-five years, but that didn't matter at this moment.

They had a happy life, and nothing could ever change that.


End file.
